Google Classroom

Several high school teachers, including Mrs. Goevert, Miss Gaston, and Mr. Sebits are using the new Google Classroom to manage their student work.  Teachers create virtual classrooms to deliver and retrieve assignments to and from their students.  Assignments can easily be opened in other apps such as Notability for grading.  If you would like to set your classroom up with Google classroom, go to classroom.google.com or let me know and I would love to come help!  Here is a good article on what Google Classroom is and its features! Below is some helpful information from Edudemic on the use of iPads and Google Classroom together.

Mr. Pauls' & Mr. Rider's HS Health Flow Chart App

Mr. Pauls & Mr. Rider presented at the High School School Improvement day on their use of the free, flowchart app called PureFlow in their health class.  They explained how user friendly the app was to use as well as how much the students enjoyed using it on their iPads.  Student were able to move their ideas around with ease as well as make their presentations visually appealing. 

High School School Improvement Tech Time

HHS teachers spent most of the September School Improvement Day attending break-out tech sessions.  Teachers selected several sessions including Google Classroom, Notability, iPad Basics, Keynote, Pages, iBooks, Skype in the Classroom, SharpSchool Website training, and a look at new features in iOS8.  Mrs. Goevert (HS Business) shared how she has modified her work journal process for her On The Job training program to now be completely digital.  Thank you to the teachers who helped present including Mrs. Goevert, Mrs. Simpson, Mrs. Yoder, Mr. Pauls, Mr. Rider, Mr. Rempel, Mr. Unruh, Mr. Rhodes, and Miss Gaston!

Reflector-Mirroring your iPad on your Computer

Need to project your iPad and don't have an Apple TV? Use Reflector on your MacBook to mirror your iPad onto your MacBook.  Reflector has a new update out and finally you can hide the bulky frame of the iPad on your screen, making your iPad screen display larger!  Go to the device menu at the top and uncheck "show frame"!

Mr. Richardson's 8th Grade Stop Motion Videos

Mr. Richardson's 8th Grade Science classes created stop motion videos on the iPads and their phones using several different technology resources including iMovie and the Flipagram App. Students learned about the human brain and the persistence of vision.  Students were asked to create a flip book to show still pictures in motion.  Many chose to digitally take their pictures or add pictures to technology using various applications.

http://flipagram.com/f/IiRkrbuCKc

http://flipagram.com/f/IkEwtDLH56

http://flipagram.com/f/IiXFXvdhqb

http://youtu.be/RBOoyR8oPKo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvgtdB_e_-k&list=UULVHISeJ3k4M3YZJMBfvdsw

Digital Exit Tickets

How do you collect instant feedback from your students? Edutopia has easy ideas on how to do this!  Exit tickets are a great way to wrap up what your student has learned as well as checking for understanding.  Here are 5 easy DIGITAL exit alternatives!

Edutopia Article on Digital Exit Tickets

Historytunes.com

American History teachers....

50 songs used to teach U.S. History topics such as 

progressivism, Civil Rights, the Constitution, and more!  Historytunes.com

Remind App

Several teachers throughout the district including Mrs. Harder's 4th Grade, Miss Wiebe's 5th Grade and Mr. Lafferty's 6th Grade are using the Remind App to share information with parents and students.  Parents sign-up for the free app and receive text messages from the teacher with reminders such as upcoming tests, due-dates, field trips, etc.  It is a highly effective way of communicating since the message is sent directly to the parent's phone instead of requiring them to check an account.

Miss Wiebe's 5th Grade QR Code Social Studies Scavenger Hunt

Miss Wiebe's students completed a QR Code scavenger hunt using their iPads.  The codes instantly linked the students to different websites to aid them in their research of regions of the United States.  It got the students up and moving around and they were excited to see where the next code would take them!

2nd Graders Keyboarding!

Keyboarding has been moved down to begin in 2nd grade starting this year.  With more technology being integrated earlier into elementary classrooms it is essential keyboarding skills are started correctly and at an earlier age.  Students have started the typing program Type to Learn and are loving it!  Upper elementary/lower middle school grade levels should soon begin to be able to see the effects of starting the typing program earlier!